Watch CBS News

Owner Of Medical Supply Company Gets 5 Years For Medicare Fraud

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owner of a Southern California medical supply company has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for Medicare fraud in an unneeded electric wheelchair scam.

A Los Angeles federal judge sentenced 40-year-old Marlon Oslvaldo Palma late Tuesday for fraudulently collecting nearly $2 million from Medicare for $5,000 power wheelchairs and other unneeded medical equipment.

Palma, the co-owner of Santos Medical Supply, pleaded guilty a year ago to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Prosecutors say the South Los Angeles man bought Medicare patient information and bogus prescriptions from a medical clinic and patient recruiters. He then used that information to bill Medicare.

Five other defendants in the case have been convicted or pleaded guilty.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.